World Language Education Research Articles

The Training Mode of Local Chinese Language Teachers in Thailand: An Exploratory Analysis

The provision of Chinese language teaching in Thailand has rapidly increased over the period. After analyzing a survey of 60 local Chinese teachers based in Thailand, we find that teachers are primarily focused on improving their teaching methodology and classroom management skills, and their own general awareness of Chinese history and culture. In seeking to meet their training needs and enable them to resolve difficulties they encounter when teaching Chinese as a world language in Thailand, we establish a new and progressive QCLIF training mode and apply it to training practice. QCLIF is an abbreviation taken from the first letters of ‘question-oriented’; ‘case-study-based’; ‘learning and teaching’; ‘input and Output’; and ‘flipped classroom’. The QCLIF training mode is taken from the standards and requirements of world language education in various countries, and the actual demands of local world language teachers. It adopts flipped classrooms to deepen the understanding that teachers have of target languages and related cultures. It also improves the creativity, occupational quality and overall professional knowledge of Chinese language teachers. New teachers also gain experience and develop through multi-dimensional training that enhances knowledge and develops teaching methodologies related to culture, intercultural communication and target languages. Training also helps to establish an on-line country-specific workshop for Chinese language teachers that provides sustainable support to their vocational development. All training practices prove that the QCLIF mode, when based on the actual demand of local Chinese language teachers in Thailand, can effectively improve teachers’ teaching ability and related professional qualities. In addition, the online workshop that brings together local Chinese language teachers from different schools and regions in Thailand further promotes sharing and exchange between teachers, and plays an active role in the benefits obtained from learning, sustainable support and teaching. It has also recorded a 90 percent satisfaction level.

Toward a new normal in foreign language classrooms

Abstract Although Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is relied upon heavily in these disruptive times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, little is known about committed learners’ reactions to CALL as they actively voiced their questions and concerns during crisis-prompted remote learning. Employing a qualitative research method, findings reveal that their attitudes toward remote learning were ambivalent. While they viewed online tools as useful learning resources, they also expressed hesitation in adopting them. Meanwhile, they welcomed innovative ad hoc curriculum quickly developed by the instructor; however, the innovative curriculum was also viewed as less organized. These findings shed light on pedagogical implications for world language education in higher education and urge researchers to further investigate how remote language teaching and learning would affect committed students during the new normal times as foreign language enrollments continue to decline.

Dual Language as White Property: Examining a Secondary Bilingual-Education Program and Latinx Equity

This critical race ethnography examines a secondary-level dual-language (DL) program, a bilingual-education model thought to provide Latinxs educational equity. Drawing from a three-stage recursive analytic approach, I present evidence that a DL program’s policies and practices valued offering Latinx youth biliterate schooling only so long as DL was available and advantageous to Whites—which ultimately excluded some Latinx students from bilingual education and/or accessing its benefits. I theorize DL functions as white property when DL perpetuates racial hierarchies and preserves the value of a white racial identity, thereby maintaining Whites’ inequitable material accumulation. I problematize the logic of DL—highlighting that DL has the elitist tendencies of world-language education—and assess DL’s potential to deliver educational justice to Latinxs.

AMPLIFY: Professional Learning Experiences for World Language Educators

AMPLIFY: Professional Learning Experiences for World Language Educators

Reframing my practices: reconsidering post-secondary World Language education

ABSTRACT As our post-secondary landscape evolves to address the needs of the next generation of learners and future educators, it is important to explore the potential conflict between the teaching methods employed by teacher educators and what we ask our pre-service teachers to enact. Amid the challenges facing many teacher preparation programs (including World Languages) are a changing student population, declining enrollments, limited budgets, teachershortages, and overall changes in post-secondary education. Theneed for curricular change in post-secondary programs is long-standing. Publishing accounts of our classroom practices contributes to the professional dialogue and knowledge base, modeling for our future educators the application of best practices in our profession. This self-study explores the classroom practices of one experienced World Language educator, using the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning and TELL project as frameworks, and contributes to a gap in the research on post-secondary World Language teaching and teacher development.

A Systemic Functional Linguistics Approach to Instructional Design for L2 German: Connecting Language and Content

AbstractThe creation of pedagogical activities in line with genre‐based approaches has substantially shaped world language curriculum design and instruction, as seen in Martin (2002a), Crane (2006), and Maxim (2004); however, an insignificant number of principled guidelines suggests exactly how to achieve these pedagogical goals (Kubota, 2016; Ryshina‐Pankova, 2016; Schleppegrell, 2019). To this end, this article demonstrates how a genre‐based textual analysis through the lens of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) serves as a useful methodology for advanced learners of German at the university level. It introduces a unique online venue for exploring the GDR and selects Karin Bloth's narrative Stark und ohnmächtig zugleich (2004) from this website to conduct an SFL‐informed analysis regarding its generic structure, interpersonal meanings, and participant voices. The findings about the narrator's inner conflict as well as the social functions of language are directly applied to specific suggestions for pedagogical activities. The article concludes with a discussion of the benefits and implications of this methodology as a tool for world language educators to support their analyses of culturally relevant materials in order to develop content‐ and language‐integrated pedagogical activities.

Critical Race Pedagogy for More Effective and Inclusive World Language Teaching

AbstractTo address racial inequity and the exclusion of African Americans in applied linguistics, second-language acquisition, and world language (WL) education, our field must reckon with social justice problems of racism and anti-Blackness. Theoretical frameworks of critical race theory (CRT) and critical race pedagogy (CRP) elucidate how such injustices are perpetuated, plus, propose solutions for them. This article discusses racism and anti-Blackness in WL curriculum, materials, and instructional practices. It presents a post-hoc CRT analysis of findings from two studies: (i) an ethnographic study examining Spanish curriculum and instructional practices at two minority serving postsecondary institutions and (ii) a participatory action research collaboration with Spanish instructors examining curriculum at a predominantly white institution—both studies linked by how they reveal endemic racism and anti-Blackness in WL programmes. Ultimately, this article addresses how African Americans can more authentically and successfully participate in WL programmes. It introduces to the field a proposal of CRP for more effective WL teaching to promote practices in antiracism, equity-mindedness, and inclusivity for greater retention and success of Black students.

Emergency Remote Language Teaching and U.S.‐Based College‐Level World Language Educators’ Intention to Adopt Online Teaching in Postpandemic Times

AbstractThis study adopted a mixed methods approach to explore the impact of emergency remote language teaching (ERLT) in the spring of 2020 on 662 U.S.‐based college‐level world language educators’ intention to teach languages online in postpandemic times. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from an online questionnaire and follow‐up interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed through exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural path analysis, which identified 3 factors—perceived values of online language teaching, self‐confidence in online language teaching, and stress felt during ERLT—having significant positive predictions of world language educators’ intention to teach online in the future. All other ERLT‐related factors had indirect effects on their intention. Typological analysis was conducted with qualitative data, which revealed primary reasons for the 3 types of intention to teach online in the future. The results indicate that U.S.‐based college‐level world language educators were generally positive about adopting online language teaching in postpandemic times after the ERLT experience, although many preferred hybrid teaching if given the choice.

Teaching intercultural citizenship through intercultural service learning in world language education

AbstractGlobalization and internationalization have created a need for dialog among people of different persuasions in our own societies and beyond. Language teachers can meet this challenge through the concepts of intercultural citizenship and intercultural service learning, renewing emphasis on educational and humanistic aims as well as instrumental. Students in an advanced Spanish course volunteered in a school and a legal center, interacting one‐on‐one with unaccompanied minors and immigrants fleeing Central America. The evaluation focused on the impact on learners’ understanding of the society in which they live, and perceptions of their own language learning during their work as active citizens. Data from students' academic blogs and diaries were analyzed thematically. They show a heightened awareness of language competence, as students use their knowledge of Spanish in their voluntary work, and increased intercultural competence in students' reports on their critical evaluation of perspectives and practices in their own culture and those of others.

World language programming and leadership in K–12 Massachusetts public schools

AbstractThis large‐scale study used a survey to collect data on K–12 world language programming in Massachusetts public schools. Building off work by Pufahl and Rhodes (2011), this study focused on world language programs, program types, and languages offered, as well as student exclusion, program leadership, and the Seal of Biliteracy. The study resulted in 188 districts represented in the final data set, which was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results indicate comparable findings to national data in terms of program and language offerings, with shifts in program type. Data further revealed patterns of student exclusion and trends in offering the Seal of Biliteracy. Although programs are most often led by a world language specialist, school principals are more likely responsible for teacher evaluation. Survey data were collected at the beginning of school closures due to COVID‐19, capturing a picture of K–12 world language education and a point of comparison for future research.

World Language Education in an Era of Growing Nationalism

World Language Education in an Era of Growing Nationalism Dieter A. Waldvogel The United States is undergoing a political tug-of-war between globalism and nationalism with world language education caught in the middle of this sociopolitical debate. The current political trend towards nationalism and isolationism is rendering world language education vulnerable to further cuts such as the 5.3 percent decline in language courses offered at colleges and universities between 2013 and 2016 as reported in 2019 by the Modern Language Association (MLA) (Johnson 2019). It is vital for the American people in general, and language educators and program administrators in particular, to be aware of the devastating effects that these political and social trends are having on second and world language (L2) programs in academic institutions nationwide. In the 1970s and 1980s, foreign investments, trade, and immigration played a major role in the expansion of the US economy. Over the past fifty years, the world has seen the United States internationalizing its labor market and its economy. American companies are expanding their footprint worldwide to capture a greater market share outside its borders as the global economy has become more interconnected. In turn, this globalization has been driving a demand to improve the overall global competence of Americans. In today’s increasingly competitive global economy, a workforce with more market-relevant L2 skills is a strategic economic asset for the United States (Wiley et al. 2012). Merriam-Webster defines globalism as a national policy of treating the whole world as a proper sphere for political influence (“Globalism”). Another often cited definition is from Giddens (1990), who defined globalism as “the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa (64). Over the past three decades, globalism has been propelled by improvements in telecommunications, high-speed internet, satellite technology, rapid transit, cloud computing, digital streaming, and even artificial intelligence—the world as we know it has become a much smaller place. We can now send an instant message to friends and family in Europe, Asia or South America and expect a reply within minutes, if not seconds. We can conduct videoconferences with peers located around the world; businesses can promote and sell their products almost instantly around the world using e-commerce services, and students in small rural communities in the United States can enroll in online courses offered by the University of Salamanca in Spain or the University of Porto in Portugal to name just two institutions with online programs open to international students. Recent free trade and multilateral agreements have revolutionized commerce globally. In addition to the free flow of goods and services, the mass movement or migration of people between countries and across continents has become a more common phenomenon and a major factor in the globalization of the world’s economy. According to Stroud et al. (2018) roughly 258 million people or four percent of the world’s population lives outside their country of birth, and the World Migration Report 2018 (International Organization for Migration 2017) predicts this number will increase to 405 million by 2050. The United States alone had roughly 45 million foreign-born residents in 2018 according to the Migration Policy Institute (Batalova et al. 2020). This massive increase [End Page 37] in mobility, transnationalism, and free-market capitalism has created a large demand for a workforce with world language skills and cross-cultural competence, in other words, with the ability to understand and effectively engage people from different nations and cultures. The results from a 2019 survey of 1,200 US employers conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), highlight the dire need for language skills other than English in the US workplace and the negative impact that this shortage of multilingual workers is having on the US economy. According to the survey, 9 out of 10 US employers rely on employees with language skills other than English; 1 in 3 language-dependent US employers report a language skills gap, and 1 in 4 report losing business due to a lack of language...

Eliciting Empathy Through the Study of Literature in the World Language Classroom

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought questions of empathy in the modern world to the forefront of daily life. Although a natural human response, empathy can be cultivated and even taught. Recent research on the links between reading and empathy present possibilities for world language educators to integrate the purposeful study of literature with the goal of empathy awareness and cultivation in mind. This article details the design of a project-based learning unit on empathy in a post-secondary Latin American literature course during the COVID-19 pandemic. The author studied the impact of this approach by gaining a deeper understanding of learners’ experiences through observation and learners’ reflections and projects. The findings showed that learners articulated the ways texts elicit empathy, their own empathetic reactions, and made connections to the historical moment they were living.

Language Ideologies, Language Policies and their Translation into Fiscal Policies in the U.S. Perspectives of Language Education Community Stakeholders

This study explored the potential effects of the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts through the lens of language ideologies in the language education community. This community includes English as a second language (ESL), dual language bilingual programs, and world/foreign language education. The Trump administration proposed cuts totaling $4 billion by eliminating or reducing major language education programs. Through semi-structured interviews, the researchers explored the perspectives of stakeholders who would be impacted. Six participants who are actively involved in the language education community at different levels including ESL, dual language bilingual, and world language educators, administrators and coordinators of language education programs in the U.S. participated in this study. Thematic analysis of the interview data indicated that all participants from different stakeholder groups were ideologically aligned with the pluralist views. The budget cuts were perceived as representative of broader assimilationist ideology. The negative impacts of eliminations on teacher professional development programs, K-12 public education, post-secondary language education, and world language education in America were expressed by the participants. The participants’ counter arguments to the proposed budget eliminations are presented. This study has implications for the language education community, language policy makers, and educational policy planners in the U.S.

Poetry in TESOL Teacher Education: A Chinese Teacher’s Identity Negotiation and Reconstruction Before and During the Pandemic

This case study explores how Meili (pseudonym), a pre-service teacher in a TESOL and World Language Education program, negotiated and reconstructed her identity as a multilingual graduate student in her emergent bilingual poems through two poetry classes offered in spring 2018 and summer 2019. Her reflections and stories in the interviews are analyzed under the framework of arts-based research. The findings point out that this non-English native multilingual teacher negotiated and reconstructed her emerging teacher-poet identity through bilingual poetry in three main ways: (a) she challenged the long-existing norms and judgments set by her English monolingual peers by bringing her multilingual voice in her English poems, (b) she combined her personal experiences as a multilingual international student in the U.S. to reconstruct an ideal identity that she aspires to as a pre-service teacher, and (c) she used translingual creative writing to exhibit and expand her linguistic and cultural repertoires which contribute to the ongoing construction of her teacher-poet identity. This analysis has implications for poetry and other arts-based approaches to be included in TESOL teacher education to help pre-service and in-service teachers from diverse backgrounds disrupt problematic norms in the field during and after the pandemic. The affordance of poetry also enables multilingual teachers to mediate and reshape their desired teacher identity through their poem writing combined with their life experiences. Keywords: TESOL, teacher education, multilingual teachers, pre-service teachers, poetry

Poetry in TESOL Teacher Education: A Chinese Teacher’s Identity Negotiation and Reconstruction Before and During the Pandemic

This case study explores how Meili (pseudonym), a pre-service teacher in a TESOL and World Language Education program, negotiated and reconstructed her identity as a multilingual graduate student in her emergent bilingual poems through two poetry classes offered in spring 2018 and summer 2019. Her reflections and stories in the interviews are analyzed under the framework of arts-based research. The findings point out that this non-English native multilingual teacher negotiated and reconstructed her emerging teacher-poet identity through bilingual poetry in three main ways: (a) she challenged the long-existing norms and judgments set by her English monolingual peers by bringing her multilingual voice in her English poems, (b) she combined her personal experiences as a multilingual international student in the U.S. to reconstruct an ideal identity that she aspires to as a pre-service teacher, and (c) she used translingual creative writing to exhibit and expand her linguistic and cultural repertoires which contribute to the ongoing construction of her teacher-poet identity. This analysis has implications for poetry and other arts-based approaches to be included in TESOL teacher education to help pre-service and in-service teachers from diverse backgrounds disrupt problematic norms in the field during and after the pandemic. The affordance of poetry also enables multilingual teachers to mediate and reshape their desired teacher identity through their poem writing combined with their life experiences. Keywords: TESOL, teacher education, multilingual teachers, pre-service teachers, poetry

Banlieues to the Suburbs: World Language Education and Linguistic Gentrification

In this “reflection on the field,” I use critical auto‐ethnography to reflect on the process of bringing urban French vernacular to New England suburbs. I analyze teaching vernacular language as linguistic gentrification, using other people’s words for the construction and continual performance of cosmopolitan whiteness. As I reflect on moving from cosmopolitan desires to critical awareness I share how my own identity is entangled in this process.

¡Profesores Adelante! Recruiting teachers in the target language

AbstractRecruiting qualified world language (WL) educators is a continuing challenge in the United States. Limited research has been conducted on attracting potential teacher candidates. Furthermore, recruitment materials are unavailable in target languages, making it difficult for existing WL teachers, as critical advocates for the profession, to incorporate recruitment into their instruction. This study discusses the findings from the implementation of an adapted teacher recruitment curriculum created for secondary students in Early College Experience (ECE) Spanish courses. Using data from pre‐ and post‐intervention surveys, responses to writing prompts, and post‐intervention focus groups, we found that the curriculum contributed to a slight increase in student interest in becoming WL educators, as well as interest in continuing language study beyond high school. However, several teaching‐related student concerns also surfaced, most notably salary and target language ability. We discuss implications for general and WL teacher recruitment, including the importance of targeting potential WL educators in their language classrooms.

Teaching deaf culture in American Sign Language courses: Toward a critical pedagogy

AbstractCritical pedagogy and social justice education have gained increasing attention in recent years in many subject matters, and world language education has been no exception to this trend. There are a number of works dedicated to critical pedagogy in world language education. At the same time that such concerns have gained attention, another parallel development has been taking place: the increasing number of courses and programs in American Sign Language (ASL) that are being offered as foreign language options at both the secondary and tertiary levels. In this article, we discuss a curriculum development project to bring these two developments together. Specifically, we are interested in the creation of a curriculum for a beginning ASL course that both introduces students to ASL as a foreign language and which provides an introduction to the Deaf culture—and which does so through the lens of critical pedagogy and social justice education.

Establishing professional online communities for world language educators

AbstractProfessional isolation, a familiar issue in world language education, has been exacerbated by the COVID‐19 pandemic. This article addresses this issue by providing world language educators with practical guidance related to establishing high‐functioning professional networks online. Empirical findings related to computer‐mediated communication (CMC) in language learning and teacher training contexts support the articulation of four critical considerations for successful online professional communities: that participants (a) possess requisite technical knowledge to navigate the platforms being utilized; (b) develop requisite reflective and evaluative competencies; (c) exhibit ongoing, sustained engagement; and (d) engage collaboratively with other participants. In concert, successful treatment of these considerations not only provides practitioners with a temporary solution to engage in physically distant collaboration, but also may help establish a more robust, sustainable professional development infrastructure for world language teachers in the future.

Digitally mediated remote learning of pragmatics

AbstractThe COVID‐19 outbreak has greatly impacted world language education. With social distancing in practice, teachers, and students have been forced to adopt distance learning. As an effort to support this shift, this paper presents a range of resources and activities available for technology‐mediated remote learning of pragmatics in three categories: structured, semistructured, and unstructured digital spaces. The paper illustrates the benefits of attempts in each area and presents implicatures for teaching.